Some Calculus Problems with Solutions

Let me solve one of the related rate problems that I had trouble getting the last time I saw you. I know
how to solve all of them now. I will also attach a sketch. Please excuse the messiness of the sketch, Im
not an artist.
An airplane is ying over a radar tracking station at a height of 6 miles. If the distance is decreasing
at a rate of 400 miles per hour, when the distance is 10 miles, what is the speed of the plane?
Solution:
Here is a sketch of whats happening in this problem
We rst need an expression that relates the height above ground, the distance from the radar, and
the position in the x direction. Clearly, from the above sketch, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem,
where the distance is the hypotenuse. We have
d
2
= h
2
+ x
2
(1)
At the moment that the distance from the radar is 10 miles, we have that the distance x is
x = (d
2
h
2
)
1
2
= (10
2
6
2
)
1
2
= 8
Now, here is what you have to understand: The distance is changing with time. That is to say, distance
is a function of time, and so it can be differentiated with respect to time. The RATE at which the
distance is decreasing is
dd
dt
or d

(you should already know that the derivative is the rate of change,
thats really important stuff). The distance x is ALSO a function of time, and its derivative with respect
to time
dx
dt
is what we are trying to solve. The height here is a CONSTANT- the plane is only traveling
in the x direction, its not trying to land or anything. So, lets differentiate equation 1 on both sides
with respect to time. Using the chain rule, we get
2d d

= 2x x

=
dd

x
1
where the h has dropped out since it is a constant. Substituting the values for d

, d, and x, we get
x

=
dx
dt
= v =
(10)(400)
8
v = 500 mph
A lot of the problems I didnt solve are similar to this one- involving the Pythagorean Theorem- so if
you can get this, then you should be able to solve most of them.
Optimization problems can be damn hard, Ill tell you that right now. Here is the strategy for solving
them: Usually, the problem involves two variables. You need to get an equation that only has 1 of
them. In order to obtain this, you need to rst get an expression for one variable in terms of the other.
Once you get an equation that has only 1 variable, you need to take the derivative with respect to the
variable and set it equal to zero (this is the condition for a maximum or minimum). Solve for one of the
variables, plug this value into a previous equation and solve for the second variable, and then youre
done. Lets go through a couple
A farmer has 2400 meters of fencing and wants to fence off a rectangular eld that borders a straight
river. He needs no fence along the river. What are the dimensions of the eld that has the largest area?
Solution:
Heres another lousy sketch
So, heres the rst thing you have to recognize. The total perimeter of the fencing must equal 2400
meters- because thats how much fencing we are given. HOWEVER, the side along the river doesnt
COUNT. The equation for perimeter is
p = 2b + 2h
In this case, one of the bs doesnt count, so the equation reduces to
p = b + 2h
Solving for the length, we have
b = p 2h (2)
Now, the equation for the area of a rectangle is
A = bh (3)
2
Notice that the area is a function of two parameters, but also notice that equation (2) gives an expres-
sion for the base in terms of the height. Substitute equation (2) into equation (3)
A = (p 2h)h
A = ph 2h
2
We want to nd the dimensions that will maximize the area. We will begin by solving for the height
that will give the largest area. As I said before, the condition for a maximum is taking the derivative
and setting it equal to zero. If we take the derivative of the above equation with respect to h, we get
dA
dh
= 0 = p 4h
4h = p
h =
p
4
h =
2400
4
= 600 meters
If the height is 600 meters, then the base must be
b = p 2h
b = 2400 2(600) = 1200 meters
Thus, the dimensions that will give the greatest area are b = 1200 meters and h = 600 meters
The area will be A = (1200)(600) = 720000 square meters
That problem wasnt TOO crazy. Let me do one more thats a little more challenging and youll see
what I mean about these being kind of hard
Find the area of the largest rectangle that can be inscribed in a semi-circle of radius r.
Solution:
Well, rst of all, do you know what a semicircle is? I didnt at rst. When I was 5... I didnt like to play
with blocks much. Maybe thats why I almost stayed back in kindergarten. My kindergarten teacher
must have been almost as bad as those assholes from Nebraska. Anyway, the whole name is kind of
ambiguous. What exactly do they MEAN by SEMI circle? Like, its KIND OF a circle... but not quite?
Its kinda stupid. They should just call it a HALF circle, because thats what it is. This is the last
sketch Im doing in this paint crap
3
Alright, so here it is. Observe that the top corners of the rectangle touch the semicircle. Let the height
of the rectangle be y and the base be x. Then the area of the rectangle is
A = xy (4)
But we need to get an expression for y in terms of x or we cant solve this. Well, look at the sketch.
If we consider the triangle formed by y, r, and half the base (
1
2
x), then we can use the Pythagorean
Theorem
r
2
= (
1
2
x)
2
+ y
2
Solving for y, we get
y
2
= r
2

1
4
x
2
(5)
Let me square equation (4)
A
2
= x
2
y
2
If we substitute equation (5) into this above result, we get
A
2
= x
2
(r
2

1
4
x
2
) = x
2
r
2

1
4
x
4
If I take the derivative of the above equation with respect to x and set it equal to zero, we get
d(A
2
)
dx
= 0 = 2xr
2

4
4
x
3
x
2
= 2r
2
x =

2 r
Solving for y, we get
y
2
= r
2

1
4
2r
2
y
2
=
1
2
r
2
y =
1

2
r
Then the largest area is
A = (

2r)(
1

2
r)
A = r
2
That was tough, I know. If I meet with you before the test, Ill go over all of them.
4